A pandemic is bad time to start a gasoline price war

Gas was selling for less than $1 a gallon at stations along U.S. 60 in Cumberland County, Virginia on Sunday. Photo: LISA SCHAFFNER, Richmond Times-Dispatch.

For all of President Trump's kow-towing to Russia and Saudi Arabia, it hasn't prevented those countries from initiating an oil price war to destroy the financial viability of the fracking segment of the US oil industry.

Russia and Saudi Arabia picked a bad time to start a price war and increase production, given the demand fall off in response to the covid-19 pandemic ("Gas is cheap, but for many motorists there's nowhere to go," AP).

There's been talk with oil storage capacity being awash in oil, that producers could end up paying customers to take oil.

This year oil started out at about $60/barrel.  Today it's at $33.  It's gone below $20 since Russia and Saudi Arabia increased production rather than reduce production and lower prices.  Prices have risen because now they are considering production cuts ("Saudi Arabia, Russia set to debate oil production cuts," MarketWatch).